Tears of Blood
by Wind-Sees-Speed
Summary: After a stabbing incident, Alice and Runo help their now-depressed friend into smiling again. Little does Alice know that this could end into a wonderful relationship with Shun. Their new-found love helps them through the days, but seems to be doomed...
1. Death's Cold Grasp

**Tears of Blood**

**Chapter 1: Death's Cold Grasp**

_**Author's Notes: **__Contrary to what I used to think, Alice X Shun is starting to become kind of cute… But, because Shun X Skyress is official and my OTP, I'm going to use both in this story.  
Alice X Shun as a cute crush thingy, and Shun X Skyress as true, eternal love…  
Anyway, this story is worked out from a request my former crush asked me to write, so please do not argue with "X tried to kill X", that was his idea!  
Have fun with reading~!_

Shun's point of view:

There I was, on the verge of dying. I was breathing heavily as I looked around through my right eye. The pain in my left eye forced me to close it, and it seemed as it would never open again.  
Blood dripped down over my whole body. Everything hurt and I felt nauseous.

Barely escaping death's cold grasp, I cried out for help.  
"Somebody… Please… Anybody…"I spoke with a soft, trembling voice.

No one responded, and I gave up my last bit of hope. Not much of it had remained when I was tied up and cut open, like some stupid experiment. Four days long I had been tortured, cut, beaten up, held captive and all that time I hadn't been allowed sleep, food or water.  
And now I was left to die…

Shedding some tears, I started saying my goodbyes. I thought about my life and about what it could've been like. I thought about what my friends would think, and about if I could have avoided this.  
But it didn't seem to matter anymore. I lost the thoughts about life, the universe and everything as I felt myself slipping away.

But then, out of nowhere, I heard a voice.  
Someone was calling out to me. Telling me to hang on. Telling me to stay with her.  
I looked into her eyes and felt safe. I wasn't sure where she came from, but at least she was here.  
"Alice…" I said.  
"You're awake!" she said, untying me. "I was afraid you had already left this side…"  
Alice hugged me, and I tried to smile.  
"Runo is calling an ambulance for you, so please hang on…" she said.  
"I'll try…" I said, but in my head I knew I wasn't going to stay conscious for much longer.  
I rested my head against her shoulder, crying and nearly sure that I was going to die.

"You'll be okay…" Alice said.  
And this was the last I could remember…


	2. Hope

**Tears of Blood**

**Chapter 2: Hope**

_**Author's Notes: **__This chapter was originally written in Runo's point of view, so feel free to comment on any mistakes~  
Sorry, late post… *blush* Very late post…_

Have fun with reading~!

Alice's point of view:

"Is he going to be all right?" Runo asked the doctor, who had just entered the waiting room. Runo and I had been sitting here for the past hour, just waiting for the doctor to give us the answers we desperately wanted.  
"Well, we can only hope, and he has lost a lot of blood, but he seems to be a fighter. It looks like he'll make it, but there are a few issues I should talk about with him when he wakes up," the doctor started, "And you'll have to wait until you can see him."  
I jumped up in happiness, and Runo gave a soft yelp of joy. Our friend, he was still alive!  
"Oh, knock on wood…" the doctor said, "He's still in a critique state. And you two should go home; he needs his rest right now."

Despite the fact that we wanted to see him, we agreed and went back home. Now wasn't the time to be stubborn, not even for Runo.  
At this time, I stayed with Runo. I slept in the spare bed in her room and helped in the café during the day.

We were walking home, when Runo suddenly seemed to realize something.  
"We should call his grandfather," she said, and I nodded in agreement.  
"We could phone him," I said, "You have his number, right?"  
"I think so… I'll look it up."

Runo opened the door, as we had already arrived.  
"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" she said.  
"Where have you been?" her father asked.  
"We just… forgot the time…"  
This confused me. Why was she lying? I looked at her in surprise, and her father looked her weirdly too.  
"Well, okay… Anyway, dinner's ready…" he said softly.  
As he walked back inside, I asked Runo why she didn't tell the truth.  
"I don't think he'd understand or believe us," she said, "Now, let's go in!"

Dinner was quiet this evening, and Runo and I went upstairs afterwards. Tigrerra and Hydranoid sat on Runo's desk and I looked out of the window as Runo typed in a number on her mobile phone.  
The bleeping noises were easily heard, and Runo told me that there wasn't a response at all.  
"Well… Maybe you should try again," I said, "His grandfather should really know."  
"I know, I know, but what if he's not at home?" Runo said. "But, alright, I'll try again…"  
She typed in the number again, but still the call didn't seem to be answered.  
"Again…" Runo mumbled. "I don't really think he's at home, maybe we should try again tomorrow…"  
"Tomorrow we also have to see how Shun's doing as well," I said.  
"Yep. But for now we might sleep now, we've had a long day…"  
"Okay, I was already getting tired anyway. Sleep tight…"  
"You too, sleep tight…"  
I fell into a deep dreamless sleep as soon as I laid my head on my pillow, content about having found Shun alive.

The next morning, when I had already been awake for a while, I was pondering on whether or not I should wake Runo up. Luckily, Tigrerra had already made the decision to wake the blue-haired girl up, by jumping up and down on her face.  
"Wake up! Wake up!" the tiger Bakugan said.  
"Huh? What's up?" Runo muttered.  
"You've slept through your alarm."  
"Oh… What's the time?"  
"It's ten thirty-five," I said, looking on my watch, "If we're quick, we can still be in time for the visiting hour at the hospital.  
"I'll just go get dressed then…" Runo said, becoming red at the cheeks.  
She rushed out of bed, grabbed her skirt and shirt and got dressed. Afterwards we rushed downstairs, and she got some apples to eat along the way.

Munching on the apples, we walked towards the hospital.  
"I wonder how he is," I said, "I do hope he's already awake again…"  
"Yeah, me too," Runo replied.  
Our two Bakugan agreed, but then Hydranoid spotted something.  
A familiar green orb rolled towards us. I kneelt and picked it up, revealing that it was Skyress. She popped open, her wings covered with tiny specks of blood.  
"Are you okay?" I asked worried.  
"I am," Skyress said, "I'm more worried about what happened to Shun…"  
"He's in the hospital now. The doctor says he's probably going to survive."  
"Actually we were on our way to him now," Runo added.  
"Oh, really? Can I please see him then?" Skyress asked.  
"Of course! I think he'd be really happy to see you," I said, "Well… If he's awake, that is…"  
"He's… unconscious?" Skyress asked softly.  
"Yes, I'm sorry…" Runo said, "He lost consciousness right after being untied by Alice."  
"You don't have to be sorry," Skyress spoke, "No one expected this to happen…"  
"I wonder who's responsible for this, and why he did this," Hydranoid said, "It really did look like someone was heading for the kill."

After having said that, everyone stopped talking. There was this deadly attitude of silence and I don't exactly know what triggered it. There was no discussion to be held, and we walked further. We entered the hospital building in the exact same silence, thinking about how we nearly lost our friend.

A nurse sitting behind a desk asked what we wanted to do.  
"We were visiting a friend," Runo asked.  
"His name?" the nurse asked.  
"Shun Kazami, he was brought in yesterday."  
"He's in room 137," the nurse read from her computer screen, "But you do know that visiting time's nearly over?"  
"Yes, and thank you, miss," Runo and I said at the same moment.  
"You're welcome," the nurse responded.

"Yesterday he was still in intensive care, so this means he's now doing better, right?" I said as we rushed to room 137.  
We looked into the room. It was completely empty, except for a bed, a table and a machine of some kind.  
Black-haired boy in the bed was indeed Shun. He was lying completely still, his one eye closed as the other was covered with bandages. His arms were bandaged too, and his face showed a few stitches. He looked pale, almost sickly, but at least all the blood was gone.  
Slowly the machine made bleeping noises, echoing against the walls.

As I walked in, the sound of my footsteps filled the room. Runo slowly followed me. There was no doctor to be found, and I was wondering if we even were allowed inside.  
I sat down next to Shun, and laid my hand on his.  
"Are… Are you awake…?" I asked, but he remained quiet. He actually barely moved, only his chest showed that he was still breathing.  
"I don't think he's awake yet," Runo said, and right after someone else entered the room.  
His clothes suggested that he was a doctor and we looked up at him in surprise, unsure of what to do.  
"What? How'd you two get in here?" he said. "I'm pretty sure I locked the door…"  
"I'm sorry," I said, "The door was open…"  
"Oh well, it is my fault anyway. But, hey, aren't you the two girls from yesterday?"  
"Yes, we are," Runo said.  
"I am terribly sorry to disappoint you, but he hasn't been awake yet. On the other hand, everything looks good," the doctor said, "He's got a very strong heart and I think he'll make it."  
"Is there anything we can do to help him?" I asked.  
"Just talk to him, and touch him," the doctor said, "Contact sometimes seem to help wake patients up. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got another patient to help."  
"Thank you…"  
I softly stroked Shun's cheek. The doctor walked away, and after a little while a nurse came here too. She and Runo watched as I held his hand and talked to him.

Then I felt his hand move.


	3. Dark Like A Starless Night

**Tears of Blood**

**Chapter 3: Dark Like A Starless Night**

_**Author's Notes: **__Wrote this quite some time ago, and changed quite a lot in the meanwhile. If the quality is bad, this could be the reason, sorry! And the eye thing is tribute to my lovely cat~_

_And I'm too late with updating again… My apologies…_

_But this story is getting a cover, been working on it today~ The current version isn't finished yet, though._

Have fun with reading~!

Shun's point of view:

Black.

That's probably the best description of what I experienced. I had no idea of where I was and I couldn't see anything. My head was filled with all kind of thoughts, but at the top it shouted all the harsh words that had been told me when I was tied up.  
Booming and shouting it became louder, taking over my every thought. I wanted to grab my head, but I wasn't able to make a single move.  
Everything became worse, until it suddenly stopped. I held my eyes firmly shut, unsure of what to expect next. Slowly sounds started fading in. I heard a bird chirping, someone walking up and down.

But most of all I heard Alice's voice talking to me. She held my hand and softly stroked my cheek.  
"Alice?" I asked softly, barely hearable.  
"Yes?" she responded.  
"Where am I?"  
"You're in the hospital. I'm so happy that you're awake!"  
I opened my eye. The bright sunlight filled the white room and I felt a soft breeze blowing through the place.  
Then I realized that I'd only opened one. I brought my hand to my face and tried to touch my eyes, but I was stopped by a thick layer of bandaging on the left side.  
"It couldn't be saved," a nurse said, "We could place a fake one if you'd like."  
"So I have to live with one eye?" I said stubbornly, "In that case I think the rest of the world should have to live with me having only one eye."  
"Then I'll go tell the doctor that." And with that she walked away.  
I stared at the ceiling and I felt like throwing up.  
"Well, Shun, we did find someone for you," Runo said. So she was here too.  
"Who?" I asked, looking towards her.  
Runo opened her right hand, showing Skyress. She put the Bakugan on my chest.  
"Oh, wow, thanks!" I said, pleasantly surprised.  
"Now you don't have to be alone here all the time…" Alice said.  
Looking at the green Bakugan, I studied her every shape. Yes, this was my one and only Skyress, my green phoenix. She popped open and looked at me.  
"You're alive!" she said.  
"And you managed to escape in one piece," I smiled.  
"I tried to get help, but I got lost. I'm sorry…"  
"Don't be… You tried your hardest…"  
I softly stroked her head.  
"How long have I been away?" I asked.  
"About a day," Alice said, "You lost consciousness in my arms…"  
Not knowing what to say, I stayed quiet. I thought about a fitting response, but my train of thought was derailed by a doctor entering the room.  
"I heard that you're awake now," he said, "the nurse told me. How do you feel?"  
"Hmm…" I said, not entirely sure of an answer, "Don't know…"  
The doctor sighed and I heard him mumble something about being a difficult patient. Heh. Like I care.  
"Well then," the doctor started, "We would like to do some tests on you."  
"Sure." I said. "Eat your heart out…"  
"Is he always like that?" the doctor sighed, but this time aimed at Runo and Alice.  
"Yeah," Runo said, "Most of the time at least."  
"Great…" He then turned around to me again. "I'm going to take the bandaging on your face off, to see if it hasn't started to irritate or inflame."  
"Just get over with it…" I muttered. This was going to take ages like this….

And so it came that I had to stay in the hospital for three weeks. Or something like that… I stopped counting after the fifteenth day. And no one ever told me anything, because the doctor and I didn't seem to get along. Seriously, that dude hated me…  
But at least Alice came to see me a lot. Every single day, if I recall correctly. Runo couldn't always make it, with all her work at the café. I don't blame her or anything, but I would've been darn lonely without Alice to talk to…

But today was the day that I was going get out of here! Alice and Runo stood there; ready to take me with them. Something wasn't exactly right, but I was too happy about getting away from the white tiles and green hospital gowns to be paying attention.  
I went with them, and they gave me a warm, loving home, where I could regain my energy and wait for my wounds to fully heal. The bandaging was still covering my left eye – I had to come back to the hospital in a couple of weeks.

We stood before Runo's home, whilst she opened the lock. She had already explained everything to her father, and he agreed on letting me stay there, if – and only if – I slept in a different room then Alice and Runo did. Dusk had already fallen, so we figured that it would be best if we went to sleep now. I did as told – I was very tired – and as soon as I hit the pillow, I fell asleep.

The next morning, when I woke up, I felt gloomy. The happiness of yesterday had turned into dark thoughts, and I wasn't exactly sure what to do with myself. I got up and turned the radio on, so I could distract myself. After a bit of talking, a song started.  
Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was on, followed by Black Sabbath's "Paranoid". The last song I heard before I went downstairs was one of a band I had never heard of, Eels with "Elisabeth on the Bathroom floor", if I heard the channel's host say it correctly. I was pretty shocked, because that one sentence described exactly what I felt. I turned the radio off and softly recited it to myself.

"Waking up is harder when you wanna die…"


	4. Sunny Skies, Cloudy Heart

**Tears of Blood**

**Chapter 4: Sunny Skies, Cloudy Heart**

_**Author's Notes:**__ Written later than I had hoped, sorry… I also had a bad thinking of anything to happen in this chapter… *blushes*  
By the way, this story takes place a few years after the events of the first season, about around the time they would be in their last year of high school, so Shun and Alice would be seventeen, and Runo would sixteen. But they were allowed to keep their Bakugan for this to story to work out.  
I am also probably not going to follow my original idea, so ideas about Shun's "situation" are welcome.  
Have fun with reading~!_

Alice's point of view:

Runo and I were having breakfast and listening to the radio when Shun walked downstairs.  
"Good morning," I smiled to him, "Want to have some tea too?"  
"Yes, please," he replied, "I'm pretty thirsty."  
I stood up and turned the kettle on. "Just a minute," I told him, "Why don't you sit down in the meanwhile?"  
"Hmm…" he said as he sat down on the chair in front of mine, as I prepared his tea. He just sat there and listened to the weather forecast. Sunny skies, all week long. But he wouldn't care anyway. From the way he acted, he just seemed to want to distract himself from the rest of the world.

White bandaging covered nearly half of his face, but his black hair was still in his face. Dirt and blood and God knows what more were tangled into his strands of hair, making his normally beautiful hair look like the kind you'd expect on a zombie. It was also so very full of knots and tangles…  
His skin was paler than normal, and he eyed like he could faint or burst into tears any moment.

"Your… your tea is ready," I said, offering him the mug.  
"Oh, thanks," he replied as he took the tea. I saw him be in two minds about whether or not to wait until his tea was slightly cooler. He decided not to wait, and burned his tongue. "That was… Hot…"  
Runo giggled. "Then you should wait before drinking boiled water," she said.  
"I know, I know," he said, "I should be a little more careful…"  
"Should I get you some cold water?" I asked him.  
"Nah," Shun said, "I think I'll be fine just like this."  
"Suit yourself," I said, and I sat down to eat my toast again.

Then, suddenly, Runo seemed to remember something.  
"Oh, Shun, I just remembered, but there was called for you," she said.  
"Oh, who?" he asked, surprised.  
"Well… It was a police agent. He said he wanted you to write down what you saw when… well, you know… happened."  
"Oh…" was the only thing he could say.  
"And the agent also said he wanted as much details as possible, so they would have a bigger chance at finding the person who did this to you."  
"Oh…" he said, "That means every single detail, right?"  
I saw that he was already reliving the nightmare he had been in. Not that I know what he had been through, but from his looks it had been terrible. He slightly trembled for a few seconds, before restoring himself.  
"I'll see what I can do for him," Shun said vacantly.  
"But you should do it at you own pace," I reassured him, "You can't force yourself to remember everything from the beginning. And everyone knows that you've been through something terrible, nobody can expect you to get over it this soon."  
"Hmm…" he responded.

I wondered what would have gotten him into this situation. He might not always be the nicest guy around, but he definitely wasn't the worst. He is a good person, honestly! A bit dark at times, but he didn't deserve a punishment like this. If it was a punishment, that is. Maybe it was just a freak that caused this, someone that just got a kick out of killing someone.  
But why him? He isn't very lucky in general, and because of this, his whole life could be ruined…

No, I mustn't think like this. He was going to get over this. He was going to be happy again, finish his school, study and get a nice job. He was going to get a nice family and live a good and long life.  
And I would be there to support him, together with Runo, and his other friends.

I stood up and looked out of the window. The forecast was right, I guess. The sun was shining brightly, and there was not a cloud to be seen. Children were playing outside, enjoying life. They probably didn't know how terrible life could be.  
I wished I could be like them, that I could still portray the world as a truly good place. I'm not unhappy, but this incident really made me more careful, and I wasn't even the victim. But at least everything ended well. I wouldn't know what I would've done if one of my friends died. I think I would die from pure sadness alone…  
But enough of these dark thoughts! I can and will enjoy life too, and I'll make Shun think the same!

As I thought this, I walked back to the table, and started cleaning up the dishes.  
"You're all finished with breakfast, right?" I asked, and the both of them nodded, so I took all of the dishes with me to the kitchen, so I could wash them. Runo also had to leave, because she had to help in the café, and Shun just remained at the table, together with Skyress. When I was doing the washing up, I could hear them talking, but just not loud enough to actually understand their conversation. I finished my work and went back to them.

"Hey, Shun, maybe you should get your hair taken care of, it's dirty and knotty," I said, "I could help with that."


End file.
